


Something Beautiful

by aphelion_orion



Category: Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-
Genre: Gen, Philosophy, Worldbuilding, pre-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-24
Updated: 2011-01-24
Packaged: 2017-10-15 01:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/155505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aphelion_orion/pseuds/aphelion_orion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Truth and Beauty really are not so different from each other. Sometimes, they can even be one and the same. -vague Shui/Leaks overtones, if you squint-</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Beautiful

The main difference Leaks notices between his life before Shui and his life after Shui's irrevocable entrance into it (and Shui's smile, and scent, and _otherness_ ) is the constant background noise.

Before, it used to be sporadic at best, and soothingly predictable—the gurgle of steam liquefying in the filter crucible at intervals, the soft pit-pat as the derivative drips into the waiting beaker, the steadfast clicking of the astronomical clock, the whirr of the stars and moons revolving around Sisa. Steady. Reliable.

After, it is everywhere, an elaborate acoustic chaos—not so much in volume (Shui is a comparatively quiet individual) as in its frequency and diversity. And of course, its inherent unpredictability: The soft scratching sound of nails scraping over hair and skin (and he knows exactly where, on the spot just behind Shui's left ear, a sure sign that he is thinking), the thump of a tail against the sofa cushions (Shui can never seem to keep that appendage still). The twang-plunk-pling when he fine-tunes his lute, the rustle of cloth when he rises from his seat, followed by his soft footfalls and the smack-tack-tack when Shui sets the ball-pendulum in motion, the scrape of books being removed from their proper places on the shelves. And of course, Shui's voice, accompanying it all, with rhyme and song, with words and without, with tales and questions and awed noises.

In the time following Shui's first visit to his home, Leaks tried to make him be quiet. The constant noise caused him to become twitchy and irritated, unable to concentrate on his work, and made him acutely (uncomfortably) conscious of the other person (the stranger) in the room.

 _"Go away," he said, but Shui did not._

 _"Stop it," he said, and Shui obediently stopped, fingers poised a hair's breadth above the strings he had been about to pluck, the last one ceasing its reverberations in the ensuing stillness._

 _Satisfied, Leaks returned to his studies._

 _Pling-pling-plung. Leaks turned, the enraged tirade dying on his tongue as he caught Shui staring at him expectantly, green eyes gleaming with mischief, tail lashing. Perplexed at the realization that Shui was, of all things, teasing him, Leaks turned back to his work, hissing in defeat._

Now, he does not try to make Shui stop anymore, and he finds with no small amount of worry that it is now the silence making his ears twitch, straining for the sounds of Shui.

He has also discovered that it is similarly impossible to make Shui stay put.

When he is not composing, halfway lost in his music, Shui is wandering about the room, forever discovering things like a child in a candy shop. He keeps poking at the strings of bird claws and sniffing at the bundles of herbs and potion flasks, making noises in the back of his throat when he comes across a jar with lizard eyes or a monster's remains, dissected and preserved. Leaks finds that he does not mind Shui poking through his research, even though these explorations usually prompt a flood of questions—although Shui is far from an equal, he is the first person in forever who finds other descriptors for his work than "heresy" and "devilry", so Leaks does not mind answering.

Shui has a very peculiar way of touching things, Leaks notices, first with the very tips of his fingers, sliding his hands along the surface until he can carefully cup the object in his palms. It is strange, almost gentle, and he would write it off as the consideration (the hesitance) one gives to the unknown, except that he has seen Shui touching familiar things in much the same manner, blankets and teacups and flowers. (There are entirely too many flowers growing outside his house now, he notices, and he does not know where they keep coming from). He finds it surprisingly distracting, the sight of Shui's elegant fingers gliding across the objects like a caress, and it is disconcerting to realize that he does not _mind_ being distracted like this.

Of course, there are times when he is distinctly disenchanted with Shui's inquisitive spirit.

 _"Hey, Leaks, what's this?"_

 _Leaks turned at the sound of the voice, only to be confronted with the sight of a monstrous green eye. Shui removed the magnifier from his face, squinting at its delicate crystal lens in puzzlement._

 _"Magnifier," Leaks growled, miffed that Shui had managed to scare him with his own invention._

 _"Ohh!" Shui said, turning it over in his hands. "...What does it do?"_

 _"Objects appear larger, allowing you to study them in more detail."_

 _He had expected Shui to try it out immediately, and was not disappointed._

 _However, he was startled to find himself playing the part of research subject as Shui delicately cupped one black ear in his palm, holding the instrument close. Leaks sat stock-still, too surprised to even twitch._

 _"This is so fascinating," Shui breathed. "Hey, Leaks, did you know your ears aren't all black? Here's a bit more blue, and there it's more gray, and..."_

 _Finally, Leaks shook himself out of his stupor and Shui's grasp. "Stupid! Get out! Go away!"_

 _Shui merely retreated to the other side of the room, laughing like a mischievous child, and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the room with the magnifier, but thankfully staying away from his ears._

Leaks finds he does not mind that, either, not nearly as much as he should. It bothers him, bothers him endlessly, that he cannot explain any of it.

\----

"The stars are singing tonight," Shui remarked quietly, his face tilted up towards the inky night sky.

"Hm?" Leaks glanced up from where he was adjusting the telescope, trying to bring the crystal lens into focus, the task further complicated by his refusal to bring a light.

Shui waited, looking as if he were listening to distant music, a slight smile pulling at his lips. Leaks was never sure what he heard when he became like that, but he did not feel like making a fool out of himself by asking. It was not like Shui could share the experience, if there even was anything to experience.

"Yes," Shui said finally, turning to look at him. "Something is going to happen, I think."

Leaks snorted. "Of course something is going to happen. I told you, didn't I."

"So you said, but it's different when you can actually hear them telling you."

"Psh," Leaks huffed. "What did you think I was doing, _guessing_? A body of light will appear in the sky, moving from west to east. This isn't divination. It will happen because I _calculated_ it."

"Really? _Because_ you calculated it?" Shui returned, and even in the darkness, Leaks could discern the teasing gleam in his eyes.

"Stop twisting my words, you like that entirely too much," he growled. "This light will appear, as it has done for who knows how long, only once every one-hundred years. Nobody has ever thought of trying to find out why. Ribika really are the dumbest, least curious things on this earth."

That last bit had been unnecessary, and Leaks knew it, meant as a stab at Shui because he saw this as an adventure, a game, instead of as the scientific opportunity it was.

However, Shui's smile did not waver. "There's more than one way to wonder about things. People always tell stories about things they notice. I remember an old song… about a sky-traveler with a coat of brilliant white, who goes out to investigate the mysteries of the stars. But he always returns from the stars, to kiss his beloved Sisa while she sleeps."

Leaks scoffed. "Myths and superstitions. That's all they teach to people. They'd rather bury themselves up to their ears in fairytales than open their eyes to search for the truth."

"But it's still a beautiful story. Even if it isn't true, doesn't it at least mean that somebody wondered about that light and tried to explain it?"

"A sugar-coated fantasy isn't an explanation," Leaks said, turning away to glance through the telescope and continue his adjustments.

Shui remained silent for a minute. When he spoke again, his voice was thoughtful and very soft, devoid of its playful undertones. "And yet… and yet I think people need beauty, as much as they need truth. I admire what you are trying to do, Leaks, but if I were forced to accept that the sky-traveler is just a big ball of light and nothing more, who comes and goes for no rhyme or reason… you may well think less of me for it, but… I would be very sad."

Abandoning his tools, Leaks turned to regard him carefully. He did not like the soft tone, like he was really making Shui sad by speaking about this, but at the same time, it hurt to think that this was as far as their connection went. For all his fascination with science, Shui was still part of a world that held no place for him, Leaks.

"It's not 'without rhyme or reason'," he finally muttered, shoving away the awareness that it was petty vindictiveness that made him press the issue. "Everything behaves according to laws. So does that light."

"Everything?" Shui asked somewhat skeptically. "So where it comes from… where it goes… what it does here… all that is just due to some law?"

"Precisely."

He was not sure how he had expected Shui to respond to that, but it certainly was not the way Shui chose to respond. "…Says who?"

"What?"

"I mean… who made that law?" Shui said, as if he knew that bringing the god and goddess into the conversation would be an act of futility.

"I don't know," Leaks admitted begrudgingly. "I don't know, but I _will_ find out."

To his surprise, Shui laughed. Not mockingly or disbelievingly, but softly, a simple laugh of delight. "But if you find that out… then who made the who that made the law? And who made this who? And who made _that_ who? And why?"

Leaks growled, unhappy to realize that Shui had regained his equilibrium and was once again playing games.

"Wouldn't that be terrible?" Shui said, turning his gaze back towards the stars. "To wonder and wonder, never to be satisfied? I think… sometimes, it's okay to leave yourself to a mystery."

"Only you would think that. To me, something like that is unacceptable—"

"I'm serious, Leaks. I firmly believe that there are some things that can't be explained, however hard you try."

Leaks' ears flattened, and he tried very hard to hold back the furious hiss that was trying to escape him. "That's—"

"No, really," Shui said, once again looking at him, a peculiar smile playing across his lips. "Come, let me demonstrate."

"What are you—"

His protest was cut short when Shui slipped behind him, and a split-second later, something warm and damp touched his left ear.

Leaks jerked forward. "Idiot! What are you doing?!"

"Proving my theory," Shui said, merriment clear in his voice. His tongue returned, delivering slow, practiced licks, smoothing the black fur and leaving warm, tingling trails in its wake.

"Wha—nnnnnnn!"

Thoroughly embarrassed at the half-purr that had managed to escape him, Leaks stopped struggling. He could not remember ever having received such treatment, and was acutely aware of how ridiculous he had to look, stiff and awkward, and all too conscious of the fact that he would never have permitted such an indignity if only it had not felt so nice.

"Doesn't it feel nice?" Shui's voice was barely above a whisper, echoing his thoughts. "You can't explain why it feels nice, but it does."

"N-nerve endings," Leaks ground out, and found small comfort in the fact that Shui had at least not commented on his sudden speech impediment.

"That's not an explanation," Shui said, rubbing his nose against his scalp like an overgrown kitten. "Doesn't it feel nice in your heart? I find it's so much more enjoyable if you leave the 'why' to rest for a while."

Leaks found he did not have an answer to that, and was effectively delayed from trying to find one because Shui began to pay attention to his other ear.

Above them, the sky-traveler passed in silence, unnoticed, as the scientist discovered that something beautiful could also be true.

-FIN-


End file.
